I would make the sale contingent upon obtaining a septic permit.

When we purchased our land, we made the sale contingent upon a feasibility study. We made sure we were able to get approval for the well and septic site along with understanding our options for the house site and available utilities.

Perc tests are very important. Do not listen to the Realtor on this point.

It is a couple of hundred bucks well spent.

Failing perc is a real disaster.

You can end up with either an unbuildable lot, or a far moire expensive aerobic system (with air pumps and other requirements, sometimes even annual testing by the state).

What is the down side of doing the test? Your contract is contingent upon ability to build. I have a lot that DOES NOT perc. Can I build, yes, but not with septic. This is vague. I have had the county out to my lot at least 5 times digging holes trying to find areas of septic suitability. No matter how much we try, it is not septic worthy! I even went to a soil engineer and tried to get them to design a complicated engineered septic. Even that failed! Not that we wanted to do a $30,000 septic, but we needed to know if we could.... Just so you don't think we're total idiots since our house is currently being built. We bought the property and it has sewer connectivity. It has been at risk of being removed and we needed to know if by some crazy chance it did get removed, if we would have a back-up plan. The septic didn't pan out as an option and we had to find some other plan, which we did. For me, so many headaches would have been avoided if we had known this lot didn't perc. In fact, we just had friends buy a beautiful lot and it didn't perc. Lucky for them, the contract was contingent on it perking (sp) for a 5 bedroom house and it didn't. They didn't get stuck with a useless lot thankfully. I would certainly want to be sure if I were in your shoes.

Always do a perc test. Soil types can vary, and sometimes a totally different soil type pops up that the 'locals' have never seen before. Also, the rules on septic systems have gotten a lot tighter in some areas- what was good 5 years ago may not fly today.

You need to find out what your town requires. I am originally from Mass, where they do perc tests. I now live in Maine where they do a soil analyses, no perc test.

Deefintely do a perc test. We also had soil problems but thankfully after several months we are now building. Worth the time and money.

Consider the risk, what if you close and then can't install a septic tank on your property?

"Consider the risk, what if you close and then can't install a septic tank on your property?"

Here's your risk:

Pretty much your only options for use of your 8 acres if it won't perc are hunting, recreation, farming, & livestock. Around here, that reduces the value of the property by at least half and even at that price point the potential buyers are VERY few & far between. Are you in a position to take that kind of loss in terms of money & time to find a buyer?

Don't assume "There's 8 acres of land so it has to perc somewhere, right?" So not true. Take it from someone who has been in a similar situation: 30 acre tract with only 1 perc site. That was it--we tested the whole of the property. Even though we had the requisite perc site & it was a perfect spot for the homesite with amazing views, it still took 2.5 years to finally sell and at an overall loss.

Your county/city/real estate agent/certified septic installer may not require a perc test, but better to protect yourself and your investment. The real estate agent & the septic installer (to a lesser extent as you could go with another septic guy) both have everything to gain and nothing to lose by your buying that 8 acres--do not delude yourself on this point. If the land doesn't perc or only percs in an area you find undesireable to build on, the county/city/real estate agent/certified septic installer won't be refunding your money or buying the property back from you.

As far as the certified septic installer goes, I would not go by his word alone unless he is a certified SOIL SCIENTIST (ask for a copy of his seal or certificate) or from the County Health Department Septic Division AND they did the required testing/took core samples and are ready to certify the results. Otherwise there's a potential '*' by his statement of "Yeah I can put a septic system in here..." The '*' being "...as long as the county tests the soil & certifies it as suitable for a conventional septic system." OR "...as long as it's a spray system because your soil is not suitable for anything else--did I mention the bug problem induced by spray systems?"

Lastly, just a couple questions: how long has the property been on the market? A long time may indicate a problem either with percing, the neighbors, feasibility of getting utilities to the property, flood plains and/or future development plans on file downtown that may not be widely publicized at the moment and not required to be disclosed by the seller as they're a matter of public record (don't want a 6 lane highway cutting across the front lawn of your dream home 10 years down the road or an airport runway 100 yards from your property line with a flight path right over your house for takeoff/landing--I'm not kidding, it happens). Have you checked with your county health department to see if a perc test has already been done on the property at some time in the past? Soil doesn't usually improve over time so taking a trip down there may be helpful. Have you talked to the neighbors in the area and asked questions about percability of their soil, their septic experiences, and while you're asking--any issues with the water (pH, iron, nitrates, sulfur, having to drill wells deeper than 500 ft as a general rule to even hit water, gallons per minute of water flow into well, etc).

Just my 2 cents. Good luck & keep us posted!